RCW75 SHO

RCW 75, also catalogued as Gum 48a, is an emission region characterized by the strong influence of the young open cluster Stock 16 (just below and right of center), which fuels and ionizes the whole nebula.
The exact distance to this nebula still has to be precisely determined. Current estimates locate it at a distance between 5200 ly and 7800 ly (1640 and 2400 parsecs, respectively) with an accepted average distance of 6500 ly. This nebulosity is interspersed with dark nebulae (especially the one giving name to the "Elephant Trunk") and a faint reflection nebula (VdBH 60, located in the center, and fueled by the star LSS 3027, the star on the right). (Credit Astrodrudis)